Case marker



J. c. SILVA 2,803,189

CASE MARKER Filed J 1y 8, 1954 HI; 4 rra e N573,

CASE MARKER Joseph C. Siiva, Campbell, Caiif.

Application July 8, 1954, Serial No. 441,998

8 Claims. (Cl. 101-35) This invention relates to a case marker and more particularly to certain novel improvements in devices of this class wtih a view of accomplishing the well known result of marking cases, boxes or other packaged articles.

. As is well known, canneries are required to mark all cases with a code number or letter to identify the batch and date of processing in order to comply with health and sanitation laws. Numerous devices have been devised for accomplishing the ultimate result of codifying each case for later checking in the event of some impurity or contamination of the produce. The present invention contemplates the provision of a case marker which is simple in construction, economical from the standpoint of manufacture, and highly efiicient in use.

Another object of this invention is to provide a case marker in which a codifying mark or impression is positively transferred to a package or case as it passes the marker.

Another object is to provide a simple, compact case marker carriage easily adapted for use on a conveyor at any desired position along its length.

These and other objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from a reading of the following description in the light of the drawings in which:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of my improved case marker juxtaposed on a conveyor which is fragmentarily shown.

Fig. 2 is a partial elevation of a portion of the case marker of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is an enlarged side view of the case marker of Fig. 1 showing the conveyor associated therewith in section.

Fig. 4 is a top plan view of Fig. 3, parts of which are broken away. 1

In general, the case marker of the present invention is adapted to be arranged at one side of a conveyor C along which boxes or containers B are moved. These boxes or cartons B are filled with cans or packages which are ready for marketing. Since these boxes must be identified it is customary to mark them as they come from a filling station, and move toward a warehouse or shipping station.

It is a common practice to mark each carton or box B with a code number for identifying the date and batch under which the cans were processed at the cannery or packing house. This is usually done automatically by a case marker and the one 10 forming the subject matter of this application will now be described in detail.

The case marker 10 comprises an elongated frame or carriage 11 consisting of a pair of rectangular plates 12 and 13 secured in spaced relation. To this end a pair of bolts 14 extend through the plates 12 and 13 as well as .through spacer tubes 15 adjacent the fore end of the elongated frame 11. Adjacent the opposite end of the frame 11 each plate 1213 is provided with a hearing boss 16-17, respectively, on its inner face. These bosses 16 and 17 are axially aligned with each other to nited States Patent C) Patented Aug. 20, 1957 receive the reduced ends of a drive shaft 19. The upper end of the shaft 19 extends up through the upper plate 13 to receive a large drive sprocket 20.

Another pair of bearing blocks 21 and 22 disposed in axial alignment with each other are secured to the respective inner faces of the plates 12 and 13 adjacent the stud bolts 14 at the fore end of the carriage frame 11. These bearing blocks 21 and 22 receive the stub shaft ends of a shaft 23 upon which an inking roller 24 is secured for turning movement with the stub shaft 23.

Between the zones of the two shafts 19 and 23 is a type holder 25. This type holder consists of a cast wheel segment having a type holding recess 26 formed on its partial periphery 27.

The type holder 25 has its hub portion 28 mounted upon a shaft 29 having its reduced ends 3031 extending through the lower and upper plates 12 and 13, respectively. The lower end 30 of shaft 29 receives a suitable washer 33 and a locking collar 34 for maintaining the shaft 29 in an erect position relative to the lower plate 12.

The upper end 31 of shaft 29 extends upwardly beyond the upper plate 13 in the same manner as does the drive shaft 19 to receive a small sprocket 35 for turning movement with the shaft 29. Note that the shaft 29 has a plurality of diametric holes 36 formed therethrough at different levels between its lower and upper ends. In this maner a pin 37 extended through aligned bores in the hub 28 of the wheel segment can pass through one or another of the holes 36 to set the type holder 25 at the desired elevation relative to the frame or carriage 11.

It should here be noted that the rocker shaft 29, having the collar 34 at one end and the sprocket 35 at its other end, serves to assist the spacer tubes 15 in maintaining the upper and lower plates 13 and 12 in spaced relation.

The two sprockets 2t and 35 are drivingly connected to each other by a chain 38 so that these two sprockets turn in unison. A drive lever 39 has one of its ends securd to a collar 49 in turn secured to the drive shaft 19. Yieldable means in the form of a tension spring 41 has one of its ends secured to the drive lever 39 and its opposite end anchored to a pin 42 secured to the lower plate 12. Also secured to the lower plate 12 is a stop pin 43 disposed to be engaged by the drive lever 39 by action of the yieldable means 41 for limiting movement of the drive lever 39 and for maintaining the latter in extended position laterally from the frame or carriage 11.

Each plate 12 and 13 is provided with aligned bores 44 and 45, respectively, adjacent that end thereof provided with the bearing blocks 21 and 22 by which the shaft 23 of the inking roller 24 is supported. These bores 4445 are adapated to fit onto an upright pivot pin 46 fixedly mounted on a bracket 47 secured to one side wall of the frame of the conveyor C. The opposite end of the elongated frame or carriage is urged toward the side of the conveyor C by a main spring 48 having one of its ends secured to a stud pin 49 on the carriage and its opposite end anchored to the frame of the conveyor C an appreciable distance beyond the position of the carriage 11. A stop 50 secured to the side wall of the conveyor is adapted to be engaged by one corner of the lower plate 12 of the carriage 11. In this manner the elongated frame or carriage 11 is maintained in substantial parallelism with the direction of movement of containers on the conveyor C.

In connection with the foregoing it will be noted that the drive lever 39 extends laterally from the carriage 11 and transversely of the path of the containers or boxes as they move along on the conveyor C. Consequently a each box or container engages the drive lever 39 to swing the same counterclockwise (Figs. 1, 3 and 4) to turn the drive shaft 19 and with it the large sprocket 20. This partial turning of the drive shaft 19 and its sprocket 20 is transmitted to the small sprocket 35 via chain 38 to turn its shaft 29 in timed relation thereto.

The type holder 25 on the shaft 29 has its type receiving periphery 26 disposed to receive type T in the form of letters or numbers as seen in Fig. 2. The face of this type T is adapted to contact the inking roller 24 and is at a radial distance from the stub shaft 23 calculated for coordination with the speed ratio between the large and small sprockets Zti and 35 so that the face of the type T travel at the same speed as the box or carton B by which the drive lever 39 is actuated.

In connection with the foregoing, note that the cast wheel segment forming the type holder 25 is keyed to the rocker shaft 29 by the pin 37 in such a position to dispose the open side 51 of the periphery 26 adjacent that side of the carriage 11 which faces the boxes as they pass along on the conveyor C. Moreover, the shaft 29 with which the type holder 25 turns is spaced inwardly from that edge of the carriage, disposed adjacent the conveyor, a distance less than the radial diameter of the wheel segment 25. Consequently, when the wheel segment turns with its shaft 29 as hereinbefore explained, its type carrying periphery 26 will extend beyond the edge of the elongated carriage into engagement with the side of the box or carton B by which the lever arm 35! is being actuated.

In this manner ink picked up from the inking roller 24 by the face of the type T will be printed on the face of the box or carton to indicate thereon the code letters or numbers designating the pack and date of processing or like information. In the meantime the carton or box B passes beyond the extended end of the drive lever 39 whereupon the latter is free to return to its normal position by action of the yieldable means 41. Note also that the main spring 48 by which the carriage 11 is urged toward the side of the conveyor, can also yield to compensate for wide or narrow cartons or boxes B, moreover, that the type holding periphery 26 of the type holding segment 25 is calculated to extend inwardly of the side wall of the conveyor and into printing engagement with a carton or box irrespective of its width.

Briefly and in summary, the case marking device It) is disposed on the conveyor as illustrated in Fig. 1. In this position the elongated carriage 11 is simply mounted for pivotal movement on the upright pin 4-6 which is stationary. This point of pivotal mounting is at the fore end of the carriage, i. e., that end of the carriage which is first passed by the oncoming cartons or boxes B as they move (from left to right Fig. 1) along the conveyor C.

The opposite end of the carriage 11 is urged toward the conveyor by the main spring 48 and is stopped when in parallel relation therewith by the stop member 50 which is secured to the conveyor frame. With the carriage 11 in this position, the drive lever 39 extends transversely of the path of movement of the boxes B along the conveyor C so as to be engaged by the leading face of each box.

It should here be noted that the type holding wheel 25, although radially extendable into the path of the cartons on the conveyor, has its open side or quadrant 51 normally facing the conveyor so as not to engage the boxes or cartons prior to their engagement with the drive lever 39. However, the tail portion 52 of the periphery 27 of the type holder 25 docs extend slightly beyond that edge of the carriage which is adjacent the conveyor. For this reason, this tail portion 52 is ground off on a bias, see Figs. 1 and 4, so as to glide along that side wall of the box or carton which is to receive the printed code letters or numbers. Moreover, this biased tail portion 52 of the type holder has a camming effect on the box B preliminary to engagement of the latter with the drive lever 39. In this connection it should be noted that the main spring 48 is calculated to yield if too much resistance is aflorded by the box B against the cam tail 52 of the type holder.

Now then, when the leading face of the box pushes against the drive lever 39, the latter is turned counterclockwise about its drive shaft 18 and against the action of its reset spring 41. Thus the sprocket 20 is turned in the same direction as the lever 39 and with it the drive chain 38 and small sprocket 35. In this manner the shaft 29 is turned at a speed calculated to move the type T at the periphery 27 of the type holder at a speed comparable to that of the box B past the case marker.

The type T on the periphery of the type holder 25 first passes the inking roll 24 which is free to turn with the type so as to avoid a wiping of the type face relative to the inking roll. The opposite end 52 of the open type holding periphery 27 then engages the side wall of the box B and in so doing, the main spring 48 yields to allow shifting of the carriage 11 into a proper position about its pivotal mounting 46 so that the face of the type T merely walks, as it were, along the side of the box B to print the proper numbers and letters upon the same.

When the leading face of the box B passes the drive lever 39 the curved end 53 of the lever 39 rides the side wall of the box and further swinging of the lever ceases. At this stage the printing of box is complete and the type T has passed almost a complete revolution of the type holder wheel segment. Thereafter, when the box B passes beyond the drive lever 39 this lever is free to return to normal position against its stop pin 43 by action of its 'reset spring 41. Thus the sprocket 24 is turned (clockwise Fig. 4) back to its normal position and via chain 38 the small sprocket 35 is likewise returned. In this manner the face of the type T again engages the ink roller 24 as they pass the same and the open quadrant 51 of the type holder 25 assumes its normal position prior to movement of the next successive box or carton B along the conveyor.

It should be understood that the type holder 25 can have several strata of type holding recesses 26 in a vertical direction to obtain two, three and even four line printing upon the side of a box. In either event the speed of movement of the type face is coordinated with the speed of movement of the box or carton so that they move in unison. Moreover, since the carriage 11 is at all times urged toward the conveyor C by the main spring 48 a suflicient printing pressure between the type face and the side wall of the carton is always assured.

While I have described my improved case marker in specific detail it will be understood that it is susceptible to modification, alteration and variation without departing from the spirit of my invention. I therefore desire to avail myself of all modifications, alterations and/ or variations as fairly come within the purview of the appended claims.

What I claim as new and desire to protect by Letters Patent is:

1. A case marker for automatically printing code letters and numbers on a carton as it moves along a predetermined path provided by a conveyor, comprising a stationary upright pin adjacent one side wall of said conveyor, an elongated carriage having one end mounted on said stationary pin for pivotal movement toward and from said conveyor, spring means on the opposite end of said carriage and anchored to said conveyor in the direction of movement of cartons along the same for urging said carriage toward said conveyor, a drive shaft journaled on said carriage, a drive lever secured to said drive shaft and extending laterally from said carriage into said predetermined path along which the cartons move for engagement thereby, an inking roller mounted on said carriage in parallel and spaced relation to said drive shaft, a type holding wheel journaled for turning movement on said carriage between said drive shaft and inking roll, said type holding wheel having an open quadrant norfor clearing passage of said carton along said prede-.

termined path, and drive means operatively connecting said drive shaft to said type holding wheel for turning the latter upon engagement of said drive lever by a carton moving along said predetermined path for swinging the type holding periphery of said wheel into printing engagement with the side wall of said carton.

2. A case marker for automatically printing code letters and numbers on a carton as it moves along a pre determined path provided by a conveyor, comprising a stationary upright pin adjacent one side wall of said conveyor, an elongated carriage having one end thereof mounted on said stationary pin to afford swinging movement of the opposite end thereof toward and from said conveyor, spring means secured to the opposite end of said carriage and anchored to said conveyor in the direction of movement of cartons along the same for urging said carriage toward said conveyor, a drive shaft journaled on said carriage, a drive lever secured to said drive shaft and extending laterally from said carriage into said predetermined path along which the cartons move for engagement thereby, an inking roller mounted on said carriage in parallel and spaced relation to said drive shaft, a type holding wheel journaled for turning movement on said carriage between said drive shaft and inking roll and holding type for engagement with the latter upon turning of said type holding wheel, said type holding wheel having its type holding periphery disposed to swing beyond said carriage for pressing the face of the type therein against the carton engaging said drive lever, and drive means operatively connecting said drive shaft to said type holding wheel for moving the type face on the periphery thereof at the same speed as the speed of the carton upon engagement of said drive lever by said carton moving along said predetermined path.

3. A case marker for automatically printing code letters and numbers on a carton as it moves along a predetermined path provided by a conveyor, comprising a stationary upright pin adjacent one side wall of said conveyor, an elongated carriage pivotally mounted adjacent one of its ends on said stationary pin to afford swinging movement of its opposite end toward and from said conveyor, spring means between said opposite end of said carriage and said conveyor for urging said carriage toward said conveyor, a drive shaft journaled on said carriage, a drive lever secured to said drive shaft, yieldable means between said carriage and extending laterally from said drive lever for maintaining the latter transverse of said predetermined path along which the cartons move for engagement thereby, an inking roller mounted on said carriage in parallel and spaced relation to said drive shaft, a type holding wheel journaled for turning movement on said carriage about an axis parallel to and between said drive shaft and inking roll, type on the periphery of said type holding wheel disposed for engagement with said inking roller and the side wall of the carton engaging said drive lever, and drive means operatively connecting said drive shaft to said type holding wheel calculated to move the face of the type at the same speed as the speed at which said carton moves for pressing said type against the side wall of said carton upon engagement of said drive lever by said carton as it moves along said predetermined path.

4. A case marker for automatically printing code letters and numbers on a carton as it moves along a predetermined path provided by a conveyor, comprising a stationary upright pin adjacent one side wall of said conveyor, an elongated carriage having one end pivotally mounted on said stationary pin to afford swinging movement of the opposite end of said carriage toward and from said conveyor, spring means secured to said opposite end of said carriage and anchored to said conveyor in the direction of movement of cartons along the same for urging said carriage toward said conveyor, a drive shaft journaled on said carriage, a drive lever secured to said drive shaft, yieldable means for urging said drive shaft in a direction opposed to the movement of cartons along said predetermined path, means for limiting movement of said drive means under the influence of said yieldable means to dispose said drive means transverse to said predetermined path for engagement by a carton moving along the same, an inking roller mounted on said carriage on an axis parallel to said drive shaft, a type holding wheel journaled for turning movement on said carriage adjacent said drive shaft and said inking roll and holding type in its periphery for engagement with the said inking roll upon turning of said type holding wheel, said type holding wheel having its axis disposed on said carriage to extend the type holding periphery of said wheel toward the carton engaging said drive lever to impress the face of the type against said carton during movement of said carton moving along said predetermined path.

5.- A case marker for automatically printing code letters and numbers on a carton as it moves along a predetermined path provided by a conveyor, comprising a stationary upright pin adjacent one side wall of said conveyor, a carriage comprising a pair of elongated plates secured in spaced relation each having a bore adjacent one of its ends aligned for mounting on said station-a ry pin to afford pivotal movement of said carriage toward and from said conveyor, a main spring having one end secured to the opposite end of said carriage and anchored to said conveyor in the direction of movement of cartons along the same for urging said carriage toward said conveyor, a drive shaft journaled between the spaced plates of said carriage, a drive lever secured to said drive shaft and extending "laterally from between said spaced plates int-o said predetermined path for engagement by cartons as they move along said path, an inking roller mounted between said spaced plates in parallel and spaced relation to said drive shaft, a type holding wheel journaled for turning movement between said spaced plates adjacent said drive shaft and inking roll, said wheel having a type holding periphery, type in said periphery, said Wheel having its axis of rotation so disposed relative to said inking roller as to press the face of the type in its periphery against the latter and to extend said type in the direction of the carton engaging said drive shaft for printing upon the side wall of said carton, and a chain and sprocket drive connecting said drive shaft to said wheel calculated to turn the latter at a speed coordinated with the speed at which a carton moves said drive lever for moving the type face at the same speed as the side wall of said carton along said predetermined path.

6. A case marker for automatically printing code letters and numbers on a carton as it moves along a predetermined path provided by a conveyor, comprising a stationary upright pin adjacent one side wall of said conveyor, a carriage comprising a pair of elongated plates secured in spaced relation each having a bore adjacent one of its ends to fit on said stationary pin to afford pivotal movement of said carriage toward and from said conveyor, a main spring having one end secured to the opposite end of said carriage and anchored to said conveyor in the direction of movement of cartons along the same for urging said carriage toward said conveyor, a drive shaft journaled between the spaced plates of said carriage, a drive lever secured to said drive shaft, yieldable means for urging said drive lever in the direction of said cartons as they move along said conveyor, means for limiting movement of said drive lever under the influence of said yieldable means to dispose said drive lever transversely of said predetermined path for engagement by a carton as it moves along the same, an inking roller mounted between said spaced plates in parallel and spaced relation to said drive shaft, 21. type holding wheel journaled for turning movement between said spaced plates adjacent said drive shaft and inking roll, said wheel having a type holding periphery, type in said periphery, said wheel having its axis of rotationso disposed relative to said inking roller as to press the face of the type in its periphery against the inking roll and the side wall of the carton engaging said drive shaft, and a chain and sprocket drive connecting said drive shaft to said wheel calculated to turn the latter at a speed coordinated with the speed at which a carton moves said drive lever for moving the type face and said carton in unison during movement of said carton along said predetermined path.

7. In a case marker of the type having an inking roller and 'atype holding wheel mounted on a carriage pivotally mounted at its fore end and spring urged at its aft end toward a conveyor along which cartons are moved to transfer ink from said inking roller to the side wall of a carton via the type on the periphery of said type holder, means for driving said type holding wheel to move the type on its periphery at the same rate of speed as the carton engaged thereby comprising a drive shaft journaled on said carriage, a drive lever secured to said drive shaft and normally extending across the conveyor for engagement by a carton moving along the same to turn said drive shaft, and drive means between said drive shaft and said type holding wheel for turning the latter at a speed calculated to move the type in its periphery in unison with the carton engaging said drive lever.

8. In a case marker of the type having an inking roller and a type holding Wheel mounted on a carriage pivotally mounted at its fore end and spring urged at its aft end c. toward a conveyor along which cartons are moved to transfer ink from said inking roller to the side wall of a carton via the type on the periphery of said type holder, means for driving said type holding wheel to move the type on its periphery at the same rate of speed as the carton engaged thereby comprising a drive shaft journaled on said carriage, a drive lever secured to said drive shaft and normally extending .across the conveyor for engagement by a carton moving along the same to turn said drive shaft, and a chain and sprocket drive connection between said drive shaft and said type holding Wheel so ratioed as to turn the latter in coordination with the speed at which the carton moves said drive lever whereby the face of the type on the periphery of said type holder moves at the same speed as said carton while transferring ink onto the side wall of said carton .as the latter moves along said conveyor.

References Cited in the file of this-patent 

